5 minutes to 6 and there are only 5 people at the Viking club meeting.
Nice turnout !
Glad I took the time to sit in a 2 hour commute to get here.
Sad..... room is set up for 250 people.

Unfortunately not everyone has the time to spare.
(Not making excuses, just stating a common fact.)

I always get a charge out of reports of poor meeting turnouts for "important" topics when the powers-that-be schedule these meetings at times when people are either commuting from work, still at work or can't spare the time because of commitments at home (kids, daycare, etc).

I wonder what kind of turnout would be had if a meeting was held on a Saturday afternoon? (Can't be Sunday 'cause football is on).

Here it is , 6:50 pm and I'm just finishing at work.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the idea of these townhall meetings, just commenting on the timing aspect.

I normally work late myself but felt I should make the time. Told the guys I had a dentist appointment. They wouldn't get the truth.
Bunch of late stragglers came in and ended up with about 40 or so.
Overwhelming opinion was a 25% total reduction next year. With a one per day rec limit. Size to be determined.
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Could not make it up there - 2 cities to go through and done with work by 5:50

I got there just as it started even though I was in Braintree by 5:50, there are lots of lights to go thru. I was also surprised by the small turnout.
I learned some things and was bored by some other things but I feel that something will get done this year to set it in the right direction. If they do nothing, then I say fire them all.
25% reduction and 1 fish per day will surely help

there is still time to write or call with your public comments.

I saw a few guys from the site there last night :btu:

thanks to msba for having that meeting there

Was up at the meeting in Topsham last night. there were about 20 of us. we voiced the same thing-25% next yr with 1 fish 32 plus no quota swapping to help continue the slaughter by the coms.We'll probably end up same slot an all, still one of the most restricive limits with only one fish alowed , as not many fish over 30 in make it up here anymore.32 in will kill most of the small tackle shops up here let alone shut down a load of the fishermen that rarely se fish over 27 in.

There were 20-25 folks at the Wed meeting in Gloucester. Same results as in CT.

Comments can still be added up to the end of the month.

It was discouraging that the room was so empty in Braintree. My vote changed to 25% reduction for one year. Two fish Slot of 28-34"I heard a good point from Captain Dave Waldrip that Charter customers would be reluctant to hire a boat if only one fish were allowed. I was going to vote for one fish for a slot size. changed vote to Two.

Charter customers would be reluctant to hire a boat if only one fish were allowed.
Really? we have a 1 fish limit up here in Maine, the guides that I see plying the waters, seem to not have a problem booking sports, day in and day out.

Comments can still be added up to the end of the month.

It was discouraging that the room was so empty in Braintree. My vote changed to 25% reduction for one year. Two fish Slot of 28-34"I heard a good point from Captain Dave Waldrip that Charter customers would be reluctant to hire a boat if only one fish were allowed. I was going to vote for one fish for a slot size. changed vote to Two.

LOL that's not a valid argument. 1. It has been done before at 1 fish, and 2. I would guess half the customers do not even know what the current regulations are, you could probably tell your clients anything and they'd believe it. If this two fish thing were important to his customers, then his customers should show up themselves. 3. For-Hire Charters (in general, there are some C&R charters) do an exponentially higher amount of damage to the fishery than the average rec anglers. They work the water every day, 2 to 3 trips, 2 bass x the number of people (inclding capt. & mate) = a lot of dead fish. This small portion of the rec. fishery is doing a lopsided amount of the damage.

The public resource we all have as recs, for-hire recs, and comm fishermen has to take the universal changes and steps towards a more conservative fishery. The current regulations of 2 fish per day is why we are facing this entire debate, there is a problem. otherwise it wouldn't make sense to sit in traffic for two hours, to sit in a room of fishermen for two hours, then drive home another hour on a weeknight after work to keep it the way things are. ...

I am not an expert but what I have witnessed in terms of charter
boats is that most of these anglers are on vacation. It seems most
are out for entertainment, not to fill freezers. Not to mention most
charters are not single clients so the charter's take is still multiple fish.

The notion that charters will loose clients when the laws change is a
weak one. If it were all about putting fish on the table.....the
most economical way to do so... is to go to the fish market.

Through the eyes of the client and the economics of paying 600
dollars for a charter....the difference between taking one fish instead
of two is sort of silly. The charter is about the fishing experience,
not meat.

The real issue is possibly seated in the use of the client head count
to boat fish for sale. If limits are one....that is a lot of income lost.

Funny…for a month straight every afternoon west tide in the the canal had hundreds of people. Now no one has the time to make events that have advanced notice. Stop it…. If someone puts up a canal is on fire post sunday night there would be a ton of busy people at the canal all day monday.

What makes you think that the gluttons who were taking 2 fish everyday at the canal want the take cut in half??? So why expect them to go to the meetings at all?? Not surprising! But I will say I do not have alot of faith in the system and do not believe the "show up and make a difference mentality"!!!! They have already made the decision I believe and are just going through the motions to "please" the public!

What makes you think that the gluttons who were taking 2 fish everyday at the canal want the take cut in half??? So why expect them to go to the meetings at all?? Not surprising!

I agree. I think a lot of us overestimate how much the average guy out there wants catch reductions, or even whether they realize that there's a problem.

I lived through the 70s and 80s. I know that some had been warning that the stocks have been overfished for about ten years. Up until maybe 4 years ago, I'd look at the YOY charts, see one or two bad years, and think they were alarmists. But right around 2009 or 2010, I realized that I wasn't seeing spring schoolies in their usual places around the Cape. This time of the year you'd have tons of small bait in coves and you'd hear schoolies on them all night. That stopped too. The charts kept showing bad years, some even worse than the worst years in the early to mid 70s. Now all I see are big fish, concentrated on two or three places where they're easy pickings. I try telling this to people both in person, and online here and at SOL and they politely tell me that I have my head up my ass, that there are "plenty of bass", that they're all offshore, or that they're late because of the water temps, or any of the same songs that guys sang in the early 80s. And some of the choir are veterans of that era and really should know better.

I put my money where my mouth was. I haven't intentionally killed a bass since 2011, and I only fish in ways that minimize killing one unintentionally. No plugs, jigs only, and gear that lands them quickly. I don't even take most of them out of the water. I've caught thousands. I don't need any more pictures.

History has taught me that public comment meetings are a dog and pony show. I remember when 2@28" was on the table down in NY, and a couple hundred guys were in the room at SUNY-Stony Brook, and the only people who spoke in favor of it were the handful of charter/head boat guys. Guess whose opinion won the day?
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Nobody needs 2 fish per day over 28"....I can C one fish at 32" and there should be a possesion limit of 3 at any given time just like they do for fresh water and this means in your freezer too.

U can not keep letting them fish with nets in the Chesapeake Bay area for 19" fish either regardless if they R mostly males so they claim....there has to be some females mixed in.

I agree with puppet about the charter boat fishery....in my chartering days that just recently came to an end most people were happy to catch and release and yes some would keep one or two...but for the most part most were released...most people in my area that book a charter R staying in motels and have no place to really keep the fish.

I at least got a couple of guys to send emails , I wanted to go back to 1 @ 36"saddly not an option , it took over 10 years to rebound last time , we keep playing this yoyo game one day they won't rebound

anybody been to the meetings last week? how'd it go?

Pathetic.
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Schedule a meeting at the canal then post that theres a big blitz happening. You have 500 there in an hr.That's one way to get attendance.

Tuna meetings are normally scheduled at 11:00 am in gloucester during the season - and they are standing room only. Recs and commercial - shoulder to shoulder.

Don't like what's happening to your fishery - keep blaming the charter guys, commercials, and whatever else you'd like. But while you're all at it, look in the mirror and have a big glass of STFU.
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Charter Captain for ten years, well over 100 per year - just to base my opinions on.

95% of our customers don't know what the regulations are - number of fish nor length.

95% have no idea the amount of meat on a fish - many a time we fillet the fish, they look at the bags of fillets and say "we don't want all that, can you take some?"

Based on that, when we get 3 or 4 good fish in the box we start asking the questions - how many fish do you want to keep, etc. etc. Most of the time, with a little education, the folks do not take the 2 fish per person limit. If they want to take the 2, that's ok too and there aren't any angry stares - we do have some groups who come on board who we know eat every last piece of meat, you can just tell.

That being said, I support the 1 fish per person proposal.

Hard part for us up here in Maine is we have such a small voice. 20 or so of us at the meeting with a split about 50/50 charter an sport fishermen. We all agree'd as to whats needed with 1 fish 32 in. no quota swapping,keep out of the EEZ and that steps shouda been made sooner. the kid that did the presentation did one hell of a good job considering the science babble within the document.We've held the gamefish line for around 50 yrs an take the worst hit with lack of fish due to the abuses south of us no matter what group does them. The 80's were hard . As with the 80's the number of fishermen will dwindle,both sport and comms.the rebuilding will fall to those of us left who fishing for stripers is a passion.People never listen as it means they have to realize that they're part of the problem too.Those of us working to fix whats broke will keep at it. The nay sayers and greedy are a waste of time as it's all about them. save your efforts for posetive steps to help the fish you enjoy fishing for. Keep what your gonna just remeber to use it properly. they taste great,are good to share with others and are a prize within themselves for the joy you got from them.I will always do as I have. fish a Tourney from time to time ,release the majority I catch and eat the few that I do keep.

Schedule a meeting at the canal then post that theres a big blitz happening. You have 500 there in an hr.That's one way to get attendance.

And 495 of them would say there's no problem, and we don't need catch reductions. :wall:

LOL Sad but your right.

I usually have a lot to say on these matters, but the whole thing is just so frustrating I think I'm going to try to not give a #^&#^&#^&#^&. 80% of rec fishermen just don't care about the resource and the 20% that do are outnumbered and shot down by the guys with $ to lose. The shortsightedness of these 'take now, worry later' guys is very discouraging.

I also think that the decision has already been made and these meetings are just for show. I have sent my share of emails to the appropriate ASFMC members and others, FWIW.

As far as the canal gluttons, I once thought these types were the minority. I have to admit I was wrong. Fishing ethics is pretty much nonexistent. The 'if it's legal to do it, I'm doing it" mantra has won out.